Riding the Bus with My Sister

In the present, while waiting for a bus, Rachel and Beth overhear a white mother and daughter criticize a mixed-race family, calling them “disgusting” and “a disgrace.” They start to say the N-word, but Beth objects—she tells the mother and daughter that “what you’re saying iz wrong. Iz not nice.” Then, she and Rachel board Jack’s bus. Jack is tough and world-weary, but he also has a carefree grin.

As the bus drives through a diverse neighborhood of immigrants, Beth tells Jack about the altercation with the mother and daughter. Rachel and Jack agree that Beth did a great thing by speaking up—Jack compares her to himself, because he’s also independent-minded. Jack explains that, after his parents died, he grew up with his grandmother. At just six years old, he started working on a truck, which made him independent and open-minded. He met immigrants from all around the world and learned to cook—he talks about his chicken pot pie recipe, which Rachel reproduces in the book.

Jack tells Beth that she helped the mother and daughter, even if they didn’t actually listen to her. He explains how, one time, a woman with a drinking problem boarded his bus and said that people were following her. Jack had trained as a community service counselor, so he directed the woman to the appropriate detox program. It worked: the woman quit drinking. Jack remarks that he loves helping others but likes to face his own problems on his own. Beth says that she’s the same way.

Rachel states that Beth’s life embodies American democratic values—especially independence. Beth makes her own decisions, regardless of what other people think is best for her. For instance, when Rachel and Vera drive Beth to the supermarket, she insists on only buying $50 worth of food, even though she knows she’ll have to return in a few days. Vera no longer helps Beth shop or tries to convince her to eat healthier food, because she doesn’t listen. In the past, Vera oversaw group homes, but now, her job is to help people with developmental disabilities achieve self-determination. Beth asks for less help from Vera than the agency thinks she needs, but it’s her choice. When Beth returns to the car with her unhealthy groceries, Vera calls Beth “the most independent person I know” and says that this makes her job easy.

On the bus, Jack comments that “independence […] can have its drawbacks,” like loneliness. For instance, he has been single for 22 years because he hasn’t met anyone as independent as him. He keeps thinking about a girl from high school; he imagines how his life would be if he married her and became a chef. He says that people should follow their dreams and hold onto the people they love. He brings out a container and offers Rachel his red beet eggs. Again, she includes Jack’s recipe in the book.

Beth finally goes to an eye doctor, who finds that she has two rare conditions, which have left her nearly blind. Rachel is frustrated at Beth’s refusal to cooperate with doctors and care for her health. The eye doctor recommends surgery, but it’s up to Beth. Fortunately, she agrees to the procedure.

On Jack’s bus, Beth tells Rachel that she wishes Jack could meet the girl he loved in high school. Rachel tells Beth that she wishes she had the resource guide that Jack got while training as a counselor. She really means that she wishes she had “a guide to being a good sister” to Beth, but instead, she says that the book could help her get Beth new eyes. Beth asks if they could be purple. Rachel wonders how Beth would be without her disability, and what her own life would be like. She turns to Beth and promises to try to help her find purple eyes. The chapter ends with Jack’s recipe for his grandmother’s chocolate mayonnaise cake.